Reflections
by Khuu
Summary: AU, Yaoi, KakaIru: What made Kakashi quit Anbu? In his darkest time, it was a simple smile that saved Kakashi, but how hard will it be to protect that smile and make the owner of it his? Watch an awkward love unfold...


Disclaimer: I don't own _Naruto _and make no profit with this, this is purely an insane fan's figment of imagination!

**I'm still looking for a beta reader. If interested, please look into my profile for more information.**

This is a KakaIru fic! And the first story I dare to publish after years of reading here on this site ...

I wish I could write something amazing to do my favorite couple justice, but I can't, though I hope I can get better ^^.

If you feel uncomfortable with malexmale relationships or the pairing, please leave now.

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**Reflections**

**Prologue  
**

"It's break time already, Iruka-sensei?"

"Yes, it is," the Chuunin answered.

"I see that you have come again today."

The little dog currently sitting on his desk huffed and looked decidedly too much like a human while doing so.

"It seems so," was the only reply he got.

Pakkun really was a strange familiar, Iruka decided. He wasn't unpleasant to talk to, quite the opposite actually, but the academy instructor just couldn't get to understand the canine. For the last few months, he had come by regularly, sometimes every day, other times he wouldn't come for weeks.

"Well, is there anything I can help you with?" the brunette inquired, smiling lightly. Although he did find it weird that Pakkun came by often to check up on him, it wasn't like his visits were unwelcome, for he was a good listener. Maybe it was true what they said and a dog and its owner were alike. Kakashi-san certainly was eccentric, for the lack of a better word, so why shouldn't Pakkun be too?

"Have the kids been hard on you?" the dog wanted to know. He was most certainly very good at dodging questions, that was for sure.

"Is it that obvious?"

Sighing, Iruka rubbed his aching forehead. One of his new students seemed intend on being a bigger prankster than Naruto and Konohamaru were and even his sensei was surprised just how many traps the young boy could come up with. If he ever decided not to pursue a ninja career, he would probably make a very good inventor. Even Iruka, as a former prankster himself, had to admit defeat sometimes. Today was such a day when he wished he could just crawl back in his bed again.

On a sunny day like this one, his students were especially energetic and the little angels he normally taught became hyperactive devils. Sometimes, Iruka really wondered if one day, he would end up as an insane missing nin. It sounded a lot more appealing than trying to tame a class of children who were allowed to carry sharp weapons around.

"Don't overwork yourself," Pakkun said suddenly, interrupting the Chuunin's thoughts. Seeing that the dog sounded sincerely worried, he nodded and gently petted the soft head of the summoning. Although the little one wasn't the cutest creature that walked on earth, he had become something of a weird friend for Iruka. It was good to have someone to talk to. Even if Genma would probably laugh and tell him that talking to animals was the first sign of insanity. And he most certainly did not need to socialize more, just because he was friends with a dog, thank you very much!

"Sensei..."

"Yes?"

Large dark eyes were looking at him intensely.

"You look different than usual."

"Oh, is it that noticeable?" Iruka fingered his hair uncomfortably. Unlike usually, the mahogany strands weren't pulled into a neat ponytail, but framed his face as a silken veil. It was something he couldn't help but be conscious of. Most shinobi did not care about their hair and thus, apart from the female ones, most ninjas just cut it until it was short enough not to disturb them. Some used their hitai to keep it in check. Both Iruka's treasured hitai and his hairband were missing today.

"Another prank. I just didn't have the time to go home yet," he explained.

"If I were you, I wouldn't go to the mission room looking like that," Pakkun growled.

Before the brunette could react, he was gone, had disappeared in a puff of smoke. Iruka was left speechless. Was his appearance so bad? Sure, he himself was bothered by it, he had to admit he probably did look unkempt, but that it was so bad that he even a dog would mention it...

Maybe that was why he had earned weird looks from the other teachers today. Really, the student responsible was lucky that he had just punished him with the duty of cleaning the blackboard for a few weeks! For embarrassing him like that, he would have deserved much worse! Unlike many, Iruka had the reputation of being a responsible adult and he would like to keep it that way. So he decided that before heading over to the mission room, he would take care of his hair first.

Just as he had made that resolve and decided that it was too much of a waste to throw away the lunch he had made at morning, the door to the classroom he was sitting in opened. Before he could even blink, something crashed into him. Hands wound around his neck and _squeezed_. It was getting rather hard to breathe.

"Iruka-sensei!" someone screamed into his ears. Trying not to wince, the Chuunin carefully began to loosen the tight grasp around his neck before he smiled down at his favorite ex-student.

"Naruto," he said lightly.

Bright blue eyes greeted him, partly hidden under a mane of blond hair. Unlike before, when Naruto had been a bit on the short side, he was now a lanky teenager.

With his boyish looks, the cheeky smile and those big eyes that reminded Iruka faintly of a bright blue sky, he had managed, more often than not, to melt his teacher's heart at the spot, no matter his various pranks. Because of his training sessions, the blond had gained a healthy tan, which fit well with his choice of clothing.

To many, it was a mystery why the container of the Kyuubi was so obsessed with orange, but Iruka liked the color. It was appropriate for Naruto, who had never wavered or lost his cheerful disposition, despite the many harsh times he had gone through. Whenever he thought about it, Iruka knew that he wouldn't have been able to be as strong as Naruto.

"Can you believe it? Kakashi just left us alone and went on a mission!" the blond whined.

"Really?"

He hadn't known that. Although Naruto's new teacher was famous -or infamous- in the village, Iruka had never been well acquainted with Kakashi. They had talked a few times, but more often than not, it had lead to embarrassment.

"You should call him Kakashi-sensei," he chided mildly and ruffled the golden locks. Naruto was a bit taller than him now, so it wasn't exactly an easy thing to do.

"But he doesn't act like one! All he does is read that book of his and occasionally, throw a kunai at us!"

Naruto animated his story by waving his arms up and down and showing his former teacher the back of his head, where a lovely bump was beginning to grow.

"Of course he will tell us that he wants us to be aware of our surroundings, but I'm telling you, he finds our suffering amusing! And he always wears that mask...do you think he hides a dark secret? Maybe his teeth are _this_ big!"

The blond pointed at his chin to emphasize just how long he thought his superior's teeth were. Iruka decided that now was a good time to interrupt the other, because if Naruto began to complain about his teammates, he wouldn't stop for a long time. While Kakashi's weirdness was a popular topic, the bastard attitude of Sasuke was another one that the academy instructor had heard many times. Only Sakura could do no wrong in Naruto's eyes. Well, maybe apart from liking the "teme".

Though it was a bit suspicious that his favorite student talked about the last Uchiha a whole lot more than about his crush. Well, Iruka would not be as insane as to mention that. Sasuke had come back, no matter the circumstances and although Sakura was studying to become a medic nin and her both teammates were going at each others throats more often than not, Team 7 still met regularly. A lot had happened the last few years and the brunette was only happy that Naruto was alive and well, as carefree as ever.

"I'm surprised he can still catch you off guard."

It was true. Naruto was a young man now and his skills had grown exceptionally. If he continued to train, even his goal to become Hokage wouldn't be out of reach.

"Well, he's been acting strange lately...stranger than usually. And his strength increased too. Maybe he has been training secretly? But I won't lose!"

To support his claim, he grinned at his former teacher and gave him a "good guy" pose. Which made Iruka think that maybe, Naruto was spending too much time training with Lee. Well, he would worry about that when the blond began to sparkle or shed 'manly' tears.

Seeing as the blond had "that" look in his eyes, which meant he was up to no good, the teacher hastily came up with a plan. Knowing Naruto, he would probably storm into Tsunade-samas office and ask for a S-rank mission, just to best Kakashi-san. And, knowing how much work the Hokage had at the moment, Iruka decided to make a big sacrifice.

"Why don't we talk some more over a cup of ramen?" he asked. Blue eyes lit up. Jumping into the air, Naruto nodded.

"Of course! Let's make it a contest, whoever eats more wins! The loser pays!"

Like Iruka had expected. He really hoped the Hokage would appreciate this, because it seemed like he would be broke for quite some time after this...

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Lunch with Naruto had been fun. Sure, the loudmouth had eaten twenty boals of ramen, but it had been worth it. Even the blond had looked sick after eating so much and his usually merry talk hadn't been quite as loud after that. Iruka's purse might be much, much lighter now, but his headache had vanished and he felt ready to tackle the rest of the day. Well, he would need a lot of energy; the duty in the mission room had become increasingly difficult. Not many Jounin took the reports seriously and thus, the poor Chuunin working there had quite a bit of work.

Sometimes, the brunette really regretted taking up that job. But one of his friends had begged him to help them out a few years ago and since then, seeing just how overburdened everyone was, he did not have the heart to simply quit. At evening, he would have to grade the remaining papers that were still stacked up in his apartment, something he did not exactly loved doing either.

Teaching children was a lot of fun and he would never regret choosing to do so, but not every aspect of his job was pleasant. Some might even dare to say it was one huge chore altogether. Just as he jumped down the roof to reach the street that led to the mission room, he felt his shoulders being grabbed.

It happened before he could react; and years of having to look after children had let him gain pretty good reflexes. Without a word, he was pulled into the little back-alley that bordered on the more lively street that had been his destination. The kunai he had managed to pull out of his holster was effortlessly flicked away and pierced the wall opposite to the one he was being thrown against.

A hand stinking of blood covered his mouth, the other one held his hands over his head. Iruka barely had time to take a look at his offender before the other man's face had disappeared and began to _nuzzle_ his hair. It really was the weirdest situation the teacher had ever been in, immobilised so easily by someone who was now sniffing the lavender scent of his locks.

While the stranger's Chakra spiked dangerously and the stench of blood was making him light-headed, the gentleness of that action stood in sharp contrast.

"I told you to get a new hairband," a gruff voice said, appearing in a puff of smoke. Iruka, still a bit confused, blinked slowly.

_Pakkun?_

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A/N: This was pretty hard to write...I'm not happy with my writing style and I wasn't sure how to structure it. While writing this, a lot of scenes were moved, edited or even deleted (I had three different Prologues in mind). While other scenes were a lot more interesting, I decided on a slow beginning. It gets more intense later on (I hope). Seeing my own failure, I really have new-found respect for all those writers that do such a wonderful job at writing fanfiction.


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